Targeting Ads Based on TV Viewing Data

8 Aug, 2012

WESTMINSTER, Colo. – It looks as if digital ad buyers can now target ads to consumers online based on what TV shows they watch. So claims a company called Datalogix, which is partnering with TRA – a firm that TiVO acquired this summer that has TV viewing data from cable boxes in more than 4 million U.S. homes.

How does it work? TRA hands over its TV viewing data to Datalogix, which aggregates it into digital audiences and connects them to its 50 million online users. Advertisers can then target ads to these users anywhere they are online. The product ensures that an advertiser’s message reaches the desired consumers across online display and video at scale – with user anonymity preserved throughout the process, says Datalogix.

Mark Lieberman, TRA CEO, says in a press release, “This product enables advertisers to reach audiences of a desired TV program through online advertising. Additionally, DLX TV is so scalable that it enables advertisers to extend their online reach to entire TV audiences nationwide across a combination of viewing and purchase behaviors for much more efficient media strategies.”

Datalogix says because audiences are being built from a base of TV data from 4 million households, that makes their audiences much more accurate than others using a panel of a few thousand households.

Datalogix’s senior vice president, Chris Scoggins, told Advertising Age that early interest from the buying community has been related to TV ad buys with online ads – whether video or display – targeted to the same viewers. The company also envisions TV programmers using the data to target buys that promote TV networks or shows.